International Women's Day: Ten Inspirational quotes by the most powerful women of the world

New Delhi: A day to celebrate womanhood, International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year. The day puts the social, political, cultural, political, economic achievements of women and their significant contributions to the society in the limelight. Each woman plays a crucial role in shaping the society and people all across the globe join hands to pay homage to women.Started in the 1900s, Women’s Day was initially called International Working Women’s Day.

The United Nations recognises the day and pays tribute with a new theme each year. While the theme was Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality in 2016, this year, the theme is Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030.

The campaign tagline is Be Bold for Change! The day is also known as the United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International PeaceNot just a celebration, the day has also come to be increasingly associated with feminism and equal rights for women.

Even as the ratio of women remains lower than men at workplaces, they are pacing ahead by leaps and bounds in their strata. There have been some ground breakers and trend setters at leadership positions and the world looks up to them as a role model.

* “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” — Mother Teresa, Roman Catholic nun and missionary

* “Even if I died in the service of the nation, I would be proud of it. Every drop of my blood… will contribute to the growth of this nation and to make it strong and dynamic.” — Indira Gandhi, Only female former prime minister of India

* “I consider myself to be a feminist, and I’d always wanted to show that just because a woman has made a choice, a free choice to say, ‘Well, I’m going to raise my family and that’s going to be my choice. I may go back to a career, I may have a career part time, but that’s my choice.’ Doesn’t mean that that’s all she can do.” — JK Rowling, Author

* “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” — Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education

* “On my own I will just create, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think I could do or be.” — Oprah Winfrey, American media proprietor

* “We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” — Marie Curie, Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist

* “Success isn’t about the money you make, it is about the difference you make in people’s lives.” — Michelle Obama, Former first lady of the United States

* “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” — Hellen Keller, American author, political activist and lecturer

* “When you lose a couple of times, it makes you realize how difficult it is to win.” — Steffi Graf, Former tennis player

* “Don’t just climb the ladder of success – a ladder that leads, after all, to higher and higher levels of stress and burnout – but chart a new path to success, remaking it in a way that includes not just the conventional metrics of money and power, but a third metric that includes well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving, so that the goal is not just to succeed but to thrive.” — Ariana Huffington, Author, columnist and businesswoman